Not every winter outing needs to involve a roaring fireplace or a wine tasting.
Photo: Unsplash
If you’d rather swap the couch for fresh air, the Durbanville Rose Garden is inviting Cape Town locals to spend a few hours outdoors helping prepare one of the city’s prettiest public gardens for spring.
From 13 to 17 July, volunteers can join the City’s horticultural team for daily rose pruning sessions between 9am and 3pm, learning practical gardening skills while helping care for around 4,500 rose bushes.
A different kind of day out
Spread across 3.5 hectares, the Durbanville Rose Garden has been welcoming visitors since 1979 and becomes a photographer’s dream once its roses burst into bloom from spring through autumn. Winter, however, is when the real behind-the-scenes work happens.
Pruning during the colder months helps set the plants up for months of healthy growth and colourful flowering later in the year.
Pick up a new skill
You don’t need to be a gardening expert to get involved.
The volunteer programme follows the City’s annual rose pruning workshop, meaning participants can learn directly from experienced horticultural staff while lending a hand. Along the way, you’ll pick up practical tips on pruning, rose care and seasonal garden maintenance that you can take home to your own garden.
Planning your visit
Volunteers simply need to arrive at the Durbanville Rose Garden during the programme and register on site before joining the day’s activities. Comfortable clothing, closed shoes and gardening gloves are a good idea if you’re planning to get stuck in.
It’s an easy, budget-friendly way to spend a winter’s day outdoors—and when the roses return in spring, you’ll know you played a small part in making it happen.
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